Branching unit for power distribution

ABSTRACT

A novel branching unit provided. The branching unit may include a first port for connecting a first power conductor disposed in a first optical cable, a second port for connecting a second power conductor disposed in a second optical cable, and a third port for connecting a third power conductor and a fourth power conductor disposed in a branch cable. The third port may include a first sub-port and a second sub-port. The first sub-port may be configured to connect the third power conductor of the branch cable. The second sub-port may be configured to connect the fourth power conductor of the branch cable.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and is a continuation application ofU.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 16/382,761, filed onApr. 12, 2019, entitled “BRANCHING UNIT FOR POWER DISTRIBUTION,” thecontents of the application incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of opticalcommunication systems. More particularly, the present disclosure relatesto a branching unit for distributing power within an opticalcommunication system.

Discussion of Related Art

In undersea optical fiber transmission systems, a branching unit is apiece of equipment that may split an optical cable into “branches” toserve more than one destination. For instance, one branch of thebranching unit may head for a cable landing point (e.g., a locationwhere the cable makes landfall) while the other branches may continueundersea. For example, the branching unit may incorporate conventional3-port electrical branching functionality, which may interconnect thepower conductors of three cables (e.g., an “east” trunk, a “west” trunk,and a branch cable) as well as a ground connector and manage theconnections therebetween.

In a conventional 3-port electrical branching configuration, thebranching unit may be configured such that the power conductor of theeast trunk is connected to the power conductor of the west trunk whilethe power conductor of the branch cable is connected to the local seaground connector. In another conventional 3-port electrical branchingconfiguration, for instance, the branching unit may be configured sothat the power conductor of the east trunk (or the west trunk in analternative configuration) is connected to the power conductor of thebranch cable while the power conductor of the west trunk cable (or thetrunk east cable in the alternative configuration) is connected to thelocal sea ground connector.

Numerous problems, however, arise in the above-described conventional3-port electrical branching configurations when a shunt fault occurs onthe cable. A shunt fault may be a type of fault that occurs when theinsulation of the cable becomes damaged such that there is a shortcircuit from the power conductor of the cable to seawater. Typically,during repair, the location of the virtual ground point (which wouldnormally exist approximately halfway along the cable) may be moved tothe location of the shunt fault so that the communication system cancontinue to carry traffic along the cable.

Thus, when a shunt fault occurs in the above-described configurations,the virtual ground point of the transmission cable cannot be movedanywhere along the cable since the power conductor in one of the threecables is always physically connected to a local sea ground connector.Another problem is that power feed equipment (PFE) farthest from theshunt fault must be able to generate additional power required tomaintain the operating current running through the power conductor ofthe cable. As a result, traffic capacity of the system is inherentlyconstrained or limited by this shunt fault recovery condition of thebranching unit, which significantly reduces overall communicationcapacity and efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a new and novelbranching unit for distributing power. In one embodiment, the branchingunit may include a first port for connecting a first power conductordisposed in a first optical cable, a second port for connecting a secondpower conductor disposed in a second optical cable, and a third port forconnecting a third power conductor and a fourth power conductor disposedin a branch cable. The third port may include a first sub-port and asecond sub-port. The first sub-port may be configured to connect thethird power conductor of the branch cable. The second sub-port may beconfigured to connect the fourth power conductor of the branch cable.

In another embodiment, a branching unit may include a first port forconnecting a first power conductor disposed in a first optical cable, asecond port for connecting a second power conductor disposed in a secondoptical cable, a third port for connecting a third power conductordisposed in a first branch cable, and a fourth port for connecting afourth power conductor disposed in a second branch cable.

In another embodiment, a system may include a dual-conductor branchingunit, a first branching unit, and a second branching unit. Thedual-conductor branching unit may include a first port for connecting afirst power conductor disposed in a first optical cable, a second portfor connecting a second power conductor disposed in a second opticalcable, and a third port for connecting a third power conductor and afourth power conductor disposed in a first branch cable. The third portmay include a first sub-port and a second sub-port. The first sub-portmay be configured to connect the third power conductor of the firstbranch cable and the second sub-port may be configured to connect thefourth power conductor of the first branch cable. Moreover, the firstbranching unit may include a fourth port for connecting a fifth powerconductor disposed in a third optical cable, a fifth port for connectingthe first power conductor disposed in the first optical cable, a sixthport for connecting a sixth power conductor disposed in a second branchcable. The second branching unit may include a seventh port forconnecting the second power conductor disposed in the second opticalcable, an eighth port for connecting a seventh power conductor disposedin a fourth optical cable, and a ninth port for connecting an eighthpower conductor disposed in a third branch cable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example optical communication system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary branching unit.

FIG. 3 illustrates example configuration states of a branching unit.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative example of a branching unit.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example powering architecture.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example division of a cable into poweringsections.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate example management of a shunt fault.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate example management of a dual shunt fault.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed to a branching unit configured todistribute electrical power from a branch terminal to each outbounddirection (e.g., east, west) of a trunk path. In an exemplaryembodiment, a branch cable of the branching unit may be a dual conductorcable (“DCC”), which includes two separate power conductors to powerboth the east and west trunk cables out of the branching unit. In analternative embodiment, two separate single-conductor branch cables maybe used to provide a 4-port power distribution branching unit. In someexamples, one of the two single-conductor branch cables may beconfigured to provide only electrical power while the othersingle-conductor branch cable may be configured to provide full opticaland electrical functionalities.

As described above, the inherent limitations of a conventional 3-portelectrical branching configuration may cause numerous problems thatarise during a fault event, such as shunt fault damage. The one or moreembodiments, examples, and/or aspects disclosed herein directed to a newand novel type of power distribution branching unit improves and isadvantageous over the previously described conventional configurationsin numerous ways. For example, none of the optical cables (e.g., easttrunk, west trunk, branch cable) associated with the power distributionbranching unit are required to be directly powered to ground, whichallows shunt fault recovery possible on all paths. Another advantage isthat a cable may be divided into two “shunt fault recovery zones,” whereone zone, for example, may be powered between a PFE at the east terminaland a first PFE at the branch terminal, and the other zone may bepowered between a PFE at the west terminal and a second PFE at thebranch terminal. Accordingly, PFE voltage requirements for each terminalmay be reduced in proportion to the reduction in the length of powerflow. Alternatively, full PFE voltage may be used to increase overallpath traffic capacity.

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodimentsof the invention are shown. This invention, however, may be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In thedrawings, like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates an example opticalcommunication system 100 according to embodiments. As shown, the opticalcommunication system 100, which may be a long-haul system, includestrunk terminals 110 and 120 that may be coupled to a trunk path 112. Theterm “coupled” as used herein may refer to any connection, connecting,coupling, linking, link, or the like and does not necessarily imply thatcoupled components are directly connected to each other. Thus, theconnection between coupled components may be indirect. The terms“coupled” and “connect” may be used interchangeably herein. It may beunderstood that the side where trunk terminal 110 is located may bereferred to as the west side and the opposing side where trunk terminal120 is located may be referred to as the east side.

The trunk path 112 may include a plurality of optical cable segments,e.g., cable segments 113, 134, 142, for carrying optical signals. Eachcable segment may include one or more sections of optical fiber cableincluding optical fiber pairs and one or more repeaters 170 to provide atransmission path for bi-directional communication of optical signalsbetween trunk terminal 110 and trunk terminal 120.

One or more branching units, e.g., branching units (BUs) 130 and 140,may be coupled to the trunk path between the trunk terminals 110 and120. Each branching unit 130, 140 may be further coupled to a branchterminal, e.g., branch terminals 150 and 160, respectively, through anassociated branch path 152, 162, respectively, via for example one ormore repeaters 170 and linking optical cables. The optical communicationsystem 100 may thus be configured to provide bi-directionalcommunication of optical signals between terminals 110, 120, 150, and/or160 using the same trunk fiber pair, although it may be understood thatmultiple fiber pairs may be used and supported by each of the branchingunits 130 and 140. For ease of explanation, the description herein mayrefer to transmission from one terminal to another. This may beunderstood, however, that the system 100 may be configured forbi-directional or uni-directional communication between any of theterminals 110, 120, 150, and/or 160.

As further shown in FIG. 1, the trunk terminals 110, 120 and the branchterminals 150, 160 may include one or more power feed equipment (PFE),e.g., PFE 182, 184, 186, 188, configured to feed or supply power to thevarious electronic components, such as the repeaters 170, of the opticalcommunication system 100 via the power conductors (not shown) disposedin the optical cable segments of the trunk path 112 and the branch paths152 and 162.

Moreover, the components in the trunk and branch paths may include knownconfigurations for achieving their intended functionality. For example,the repeaters 170, may include any known optical amplifier/repeaterconfiguration that compensates for signal attenuation on thetransmission path. For instance, one or more of the repeaters 170 may beconfigured as an optical amplifier, such as an erbium doped fiberamplifier (EDFA), a Raman amplifier, or a hybrid (e.g., Raman/EDFA)amplifier. Further, one or more of the repeaters 170 may be provided ina known optical-electrical-optical configuration that regenerates anoptical signal by converting it to an electrical signal, processing theelectrical signal, and then retransmitting the optical signal.

As will be further described below, the respective branch cables of thebranching units 130 and 140 each may be configured to distribute powerprovided by the PFEs at the branch terminals 150 and 160, respectively,to both outbound directions, e.g., west, east, of the branching unit.Thus, for example, power provided by PFE 184 may be distributed to thewest side of the trunk path 112, e.g., all optical cable segmentsbetween trunk terminal 110 and branching unit 130, and the east side ofthe trunk path 112, e.g., all optical segments between branching unit130 and trunk terminal 120. Moreover, power provided by PFE 186 may bedistributed in a similar manner by the branching unit 140.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary branching unit 200 according toembodiments. As shown, the branching unit 200 may include three separateports, e.g., a west trunk cable port 202, an east trunk cable port 204,a branch cable port 206, each configured to accommodate the connectionof a respective optical cable and the power conductor(s) disposedtherein. For example, a single conductor west trunk cable 208 mayconnect to the west trunk cable port 202. On the other side of thebranching unit 200, a single conductor east trunk cable 209 may connectto the east trunk cable port 204. Moreover, a dual conductor branchcable 210 may connect to the branch cable port 206. The term “port” maybe understood broadly and include any interface or any suitablecomponent that allows a cable (including the power conductor disposedtherein) to connect to the branching unit so as to connect to adifferent cable (including the power conductor disposed therein).

According to an exemplary embodiment, two separate power conductors 212and 214 may be disposed in the dual conductor branch cable 210. Toaccommodate the connections of the power conductors 212 and 214, thebranch cable port 206 may include two separate sub-ports 216 and 218,respectively. The term “sub-port” may be understood broadly and includeany interface, component, and/or technique that allows one of the twopower conductors disposed in the dual conductor branch cable to connectto the branch cable port in a separate manner, and further, and is notrequired to have a separate housing or the like.

A power connection function 220, which may include circuitry (e.g.,power connection circuitry), logic, any suitable hardware and/orsoftware, may facilitate the connections among the west trunk cable port202, the east trunk cable port 204, and the two sub-ports 216 and 218 ofthe branch cable port 206, and ground 222. For example, the powerconnection function 220 may connect the west trunk cable 208 and thepower conductor 212 of the dual conductor branch cable 210 together viaa connection between west trunk cable port 202 and sub-port 216.Similarly, the east trunk cable 209 and the power conductor 214 may beconnected via a connection between east trunk cable port 204 andsub-port 214. It may be understood that other numerous connections arepossible, as will be further described below.

FIG. 3 illustrates example configuration states 300 of a powerconnection function of a branching unit according to embodiments. Forease of explanation, the power connection function 220 of the branchingunit 200 will be used to describe the configuration states 300. Forexample, the power connection function 220 may configure the ports ofthe branching unit 200 to connect in a specific manner, e.g., aconfiguration state, so that the cables associated with those portsconnect according to that specific manner. As will be apparent below,the configuration states 300 are possible by way of at least the twopower conductors 212 and 214 of the dual conductor branch cable 210.

In configuration state 302, for example, the west trunk cable port 202and east trunk cable port 204 may be configured to connect so that thesingle conductor west trunk cable 208 and single conductor east trunkcable 209 connect to each other. The sub-ports 216 and 218 may beconnected to ground 222 so that the power conductors 212 and 214 of dualconductor branch cable 210 both connect to ground. Thus, theconfiguration of the connection of the ports (and sub-ports) by thepower connection function 220 control the connections of the powerconductors disposed in the cables connected to those ports (andsub-ports).

In configuration state 304, the west and east trunk cable ports 202 and204 may be connected to sub-ports 216 and 218, respectively, so that thesingle conductor west trunk cable 208 connects to power conductor 212and the single conductor east trunk cable 209 connects to powerconductor 214. In another example, configuration state 306 may configureall ports, e.g., west and east trunk cable ports 202 and 204, sub-ports216 and 218, of the branching unit 200 to be connected to ground 222.

As further shown in FIG. 3, the configuration states 300 may alsoinclude various configuration states that are related to repair, such asrepair configuration states 308, 310, and 312. For example, the powerconnection function 220 may connect the ports of the branching unit 220in a specific configuration based on the detection of a fault in theoptical communication system, e.g., a shunt fault, and where the faultwas detected.

In repair configuration state 308, where repair is being performed onthe west trunk cable 208, sub-port 218 may be connected to the easttrunk cable port 204 while both the west trunk cable port 202 andsub-port 216 are both connected to ground 222. When repair is beingperformed on the east trunk cable 209, sub-port 216 may be connected tothe west trunk cable port 202 in repair configuration state 310. Theeast trunk cable port 204 and sub-port 218 may be connected to ground222. In yet another example, the west and east trunk cable ports 202 and204 may be connected to each other in repair configuration state 312when repair is being performed on the dual conductor branch cable 210.And sub-ports 216 and 218 may be connected to ground 222. It may beunderstood that the configuration states 300 illustrated in FIG. 3 aremerely examples and not limited thereto. Numerous other configurationstates may be contemplated.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example branching unit 400 according to analternative embodiment. The branching unit 400, for instance, mayinclude at least four separate ports, e.g., a west trunk cable port 402,an east trunk cable port 404, a branch cable port 406, and a branchcable port 408 that is separate and distinct from the branch cable port406. As shown, a single conductor west trunk cable 410 and a singleconductor east trunk cable 412 may connect to the west trunk cable port402 and the east trunk cable port 404, respectively. Further, branchingunit 400 may include a power connection function 414, which may besimilar to the power connection function 220, to facilitate theconnection among the various ports and ground 416. It may be understoodthat the configuration states that are configurable by the powerconnection function 414 of branching unit 400 may be similar to theabove-described configuration states 300.

As described above, the branch cable ports 406 and 408 of the branchingunit 400 may be configured or arranged as two physically separate anddistinct ports. And two separate single conductor branch cables 418 and420 (instead of one DCC) may connect to the branch cable ports 406 and408, respectively. Thus, it may be understood that the branching unit400 may be referred to as a “4-port” branching unit. The use of twoseparate single conductor branch cables may be advantageous, e.g., withrespect to the functional customizability of the branching unit 400. Byway of example, the single conductor branch cable 418 can be used forelectrical power and/or optical functionality while the single conductorbranch cable 420 can be configured to provide full optical andelectrical functionalities.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example powering architecture of an opticalcommunication system 500 using one or more branching units according toembodiments. For ease of explanation, at least a portion of the opticalcommunication system 500 having various power-related components isshown. The system 500 includes a series of at least five trunk cablesegments of varying length that are interconnected by four differentbranching units (BUs) 506, 508, 510, and 512 between a first location502 (e.g., a first landmass) and a second location 504 (e.g., a secondlandmass). For example, the first trunk cable of the series of trunkcables may be connected between power feed equipment (PFE) 522 andbranching unit 506. The second trunk cable may be connected betweenbranching units 506 and 508. The third trunk cable may be connectedbetween branching units 508 and 510. The fourth trunk cable may beconnected between branching units 510 and 512. The fifth trunk cable maybe connected between branching unit 512 and PFE 524.

In the system 500, each of the branching units 506, 508, 510, and 512may be configured similarly to branching unit 200, e.g., in that thebranch cable connected to the branch cable port may be a dual conductorcable (DCC) and may contain therein two separately connectable powerconductors. For instance, via the branching unit 506, the two separatepower conductors of DCC 542 may each supply or distribute power fromPFEs 526 and 528, respectively, to the outbound directions of the twoconnected trunk cables, e.g., the first and second trunk cables, fromthe branching unit 506. Moreover, the two power conductors of DCC 544may supply or distribute power from PFEs 530 and 532 to the second andthird trunk cables, respectively. DCC 546 may supply power from PFEs 534and 536 to the third and fourth trunk cables, respectively. And DCC 548may provide power from PFEs 538 and 540 to the fourth and fifth trunkcables, respectively.

Because each DCC in the system 500 is supplying power from two separatepower sources to both outbound directions of a respective branchingunit, the power architecture illustrated in FIG. 5 allows all cableconnections to be adjusted for shunt fault recovery without disturbingthe powering of other cables that share the segments of the DCC. Asshown, the branching units 506, 508, 510, 512 may be arranged to createshunt fault paths (SFPs) 552, 554, 556, 558, and 560. Thus, when a shuntfault occurs on a specific shunt fault path, PFE voltage settings ateither (or both) of the opposed PFEs on that path may be adjusted tomove the effective ground connection to the location of the shunt faultdamage so that all undersea equipment can be powered along that path.For example, if a shunt fault occurs on path 552, the two PFEs 522 and526 may be adjusted to move the effective ground connection on path 552.Similarly, if a shunt fault occurs on path 556, the two PFEs 532 and 534may be adjusted.

The powering architecture of the optical communication system 500 isadvantageous at least because fault recovery activities may be performedon a specific cable or cables without affecting the other cables, whichmay be effective for networks, such as system 500, where there may beshorter connector cables between longer cables.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example division of a cable into shorter poweringsections according to embodiments. As shown, at least a portion of anoptical communication system 600 may include two standard branchingunits 602, 604, and a dual-conductor branching unit 606 that connectsone end of a west trunk cable 608 and one end of an east trunk cable610. As shown, the other end of west trunk cable 608 may connect to PFE612 at west terminal 614, and similarly, the other end of the east trunkcable 610 may connect to PFE 616 at east terminal 618. The branchingunits 602 and 604 may be coupled to the west and east trunk cables 608and 610, respectively, where the branching unit 602 is arranged betweenthe connection of dual-conductor branching unit 606 and PFE 612 andwhere the branching unit 604 is arranged between the connection ofdual-conductor branching unit 606 and PFE 616.

As further shown, a single conductor branch cable may connect PFE 620 ofbranch terminal 622 to ground 624 of branching unit 602. Moreover, asingle conductor branch cable may connect PFE 626 of branch terminal 628to ground 630 of branching unit 604. The branch cable of dual-conductorbranching unit 606 is different in that two power conductors aredisposed therein by way of a dual conductor cable (DCC) 632. Thus, asdescribed above, two separate PFEs 634 and 636 of branch terminal mayprovide or supply power to both outbound sides of the dual-conductorbranching unit 606, e.g., the west trunk cable 608 and the east trunkcable 610. This configuration shown in network 600 may effectively beused to divide a long cable (e.g., the west-to-east trunk cable) intotwo shorter powering zones, where the electrical power, for example, is“regenerated” at branch terminal 638 using DCC 632 and thedual-conductor branching unit 606.

The powering paths from PFE 634 to PFE 612 and PFE 636 to PFE 616 mayeach provide recovery capabilities from shunt fault damage in thosepaths. Thus, an example advantage of the configuration of network 600 isthat by way of the discrete powering sections (and thereby the discreteshunt fault recovery zones), shunt fault recovery and repair issimplified, more efficient, and more cost effective. It may beunderstood that single-end feed limitations based on maximum PFEequipment availability applies separately to the two powering sections.It may also be understood that the powering sections or zones of a givensystem (including the number and/or locations of the dual-conductorbranching units) may be system specific, which may be based on theoverall length of the system and cost-versus-powering performancetradeoff considerations by a customer or user.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate example management of a shunt fault occurringon a trunk cable according to embodiments. For ease of explanation, theoptical communication system 600 and the components and functionalitiesthereof will be used to describe the management of the shunt faultillustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

As shown in FIG. 7A, a shunt fault 702 may occur on west trunk cable608, for example, to the left side of branching unit 602. As describedabove, the shunt fault may be any kind of damage on the cable thatcreates a short circuit between the power conductor disposed in thecable and saltwater. To manage or repair the shunt fault 702, in oneexample, the power conductor in the west trunk cable 608 may beconnected to the power conductor in the left branch cable of thedual-conductor branching unit 606 such that power to the shunt fault 702is provided from PFEs 612 and 634. Moreover, in another example as shownin FIG. 7B, the shunt fault 702, which is located between the branchingunit 602 and branch terminal 622, may be managed or repaired byconnecting the power conductor in the west trunk cable 608 to the powerconductor in the branch cable of branch terminal 622 such that power tothe shunt fault 702 is provided from PFEs 612 and 620, while a groundconnection is provided at branching unit 602 such that the powerconductor segment between branching unit 602 and the dual-conductorbranching unit 606 is unpowered. Other suitable management or repairexamples may be envisioned.

Advantageously, the shunt fault 702 may be managed or handled in anisolated manner, e.g., in the left shunt fault recovery zone (asdescribed above), without affecting the power or performance of theright power section of the optical communication system 600. It may beunderstood that a shunt fault occurring on the east trunk cable 610(closer to the east terminal 618) may be managed or handled in a similarmanner.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate example management of a dual shunt faultoccurring on a dual conductor cable according to embodiments. For easeof explanation, the optical communication system 600 and the componentsand functionalities thereof will be used to describe the management ofthe dual shunt fault illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

As illustrated in FIG. 8A, connecting the DCC 632 to grounds 802 and 804may result in an unpowered zone between the ground connections 802 and804 and the fault location (e.g., assuming two separate shunt faultsoccur on each of the power conductors of the DCC 632). The PFEs 612,634, 616, and 636, shown in FIG. 8B, may adjust to shift the virtualground to the fault location (e.g., on each of the power conductors ofthe DCC 632). For example, if the shunt faults occur on each of thepower conductors of the DCC 632 in FIG. 8A, then the configuration shownin FIG. 8B may manage or repair the shunt faults by, as described above,supplying power to the shunt faults from PFEs 612, 634, 616, and 636,respectively. Advantageously, branching unit reconfiguration is notrequired. Accordingly, regardless of where the shunt faults occur in theoptical communication system 600, the management or repair of thesefaults can be handled without disrupting the powering environment of theoverall system.

Herein, novel and inventive apparatus and techniques for efficientoptical signal amplification with greater power efficiency and withsystem monitoring features are disclosed. The present disclosure is notto be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein.Indeed, other various embodiments of and modifications to the presentdisclosure, in addition to those described herein, will be apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art from the foregoing description andaccompanying drawings.

Thus, such other embodiments and modifications are intended to fallwithin the scope of the present disclosure. Further, although thepresent disclosure has been described herein in the context of aparticular implementation in a particular environment for a particularpurpose, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that itsusefulness is not limited thereto and that the present disclosure may bebeneficially implemented in any number of environments for any number ofpurposes. Accordingly, the claims set forth below should be construed inview of the full breadth and spirit of the present disclosure asdescribed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, via a branching unit, electrical power from a first power feed equipment of a branch terminal; receiving, via the branching unit, electrical power from a second power feed equipment of the branch terminal; distributing, via the branching unit, the electrical power received from the first power feed equipment to a first outbound direction of a trunk cable; and distributing, via the branching unit, the electrical power received from the second power feed equipment to a second outbound direction of the trunk cable, wherein the branching unit is at least a 3-port branching unit having a branch cable port configured to couple to a dual conductor cable.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical power distributed to the first outbound direction provides a first powering segment or a first powering zone.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical power distributed to the second outbound direction provides a second power segment or a second powering zone.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the branching unit is a 4-port branching unit, the 4-port branching unit having two separate branch cable ports.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least 3-port branching unit comprises: a first port for coupling a first power conductor of a first portion of the trunk cable; a second port for coupling a second power conductor of a second portion of the trunk cable; and the branch cable port for coupling a third power conductor and a fourth power conductor of the dual conductor cable.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the 4-port branching unit comprises: a first port for coupling a first power conductor of a first portion of the trunk cable; a second port for coupling a second power conductor of a second portion of the trunk cable; a first branch cable port for coupling a third power conductor of a first branch cable; and a second branch cable port for coupling a fourth power conductor of a second branch cable.
 7. A method comprising: coupling a first conductor of a first optical cable to a first port of a branching unit; coupling a second conductor of a second optical cable to a second port of the branching unit; and coupling a third conductor and a fourth conductor of a branch cable to a third port of the branching unit.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the branching unit is a 3-port branching unit.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the branch cable is a dual conductor cable (DCC), the third conductor and the fourth conductor both disposed in the DCC.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein the first optical cable and the second optical cable are different portions of a same optical trunk cable.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein a third port of the 3-port branching unit is a single branch cable port having at least two sub-ports for the third and fourth conductors of the branch cable.
 12. A method comprising: coupling a first conductor of a first optical cable to a first port of a branching unit; coupling a second conductor of a second optical cable to a second port of the branching unit; coupling a third conductor of a first branch cable to a third port of the branching unit; and coupling a fourth conductor of a second branch cable to a fourth port of the branching unit.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the branching unit is a 4-port branching unit.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the first and second branch cables are single conductor branch cables, the third conductor being disposed in the first branch cable and the fourth conductor being disposed in the second branch cable.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the first optical cable and the second optical cable are different portions of a same optical trunk cable.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the third and fourth ports of the 4-port branching unit are separate branch cable ports and wherein the first and second branch cables are single conductor branch cables. 